Haast Tokoeka Kiwi chick at Wellington Zoo

Wellington Zoo is caring for a juvenile Haast Tokoeka
Kiwi, that was recently admitted to The Nest Te Kōhanga for
treatment.

‘This Kiwi came to us very underweight,
and our samples revealed both coccidia and ascarids
(intestinal roundworms),’ said Lisa Argilla, Veterinary
Science Manager.

‘I suspect he or she has been
struggling to forage for food, and being underweight has
potentially allowed the parasites to increase due to a
compromised immune system.’

Since arriving at The
Nest Te Kōhanga the chick has been eating well and gaining
weight steadily.

‘The intestinal worms are quite
large so we are treating them reasonably slowly, over about
five days, after which we’ll take repeat samples,’
explained Dr Argilla.

‘All going well, we hope to
be able to send this precious bird back home very
soon.’

Endemic to the West Coast of the South
Island, the Haast Tokoeka Kiwi is critically endangered –
with only an estimated 400 birds remaining in the wild.

Wellington Zoo successfully cared for two Haast Tokoeka
Kiwi chicks in March this year. After a course of
antibiotics for a bacterial infection, they were able to
return to the Department of Conservation (DOC).

‘Wellington Zoo has a terrific relationship with DOC –
they send a number of sick birds to The Nest Te Kōhanga,
where we are able to diagnose what’s wrong and treat them
until they’re well enough to be sent home,’ said Dr
Argilla.

‘It’s a partnership that highlights the
importance of organisations working together for native
species conservation.’

The quashing of the convictions of Teina Pora for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett in 1992 has shone a spotlight once again on a major gap in the New Zealand justice system.

To all intents and purposes, access by New Zealanders to the Privy Council has now been closed. Yet the number of times in recent years when the Privy Council has quashed the findings of New Zealand courts has demonstrated that we are regularly(a) jailing the wrong person or(b) arriving at guilty verdicts on grounds sufficiently flawed as to raise serious doubts that a miscarriage of justice has occurred. More>>

ALSO:

WorkSafe NZ has laid one charge against the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) in relation to the shooting at the MSD Ashburton office on 1 September 2014 in which two Work and Income staff were killed and another was injured. More>>

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters has announced his intention to stand in the Northland by-election, citing his own links to the electorate and ongoing neglect of the region by central government. More>>